Walking for Eternity
by ZombieFrog13
Summary: Hueco Mundo hadn't been graced with the presence of a true Arracar in over a thousand years. Sure, the Hogyoku could do it's job well enough. The Arrancar it yielded were strong. Adjuchas or even Hollows of a lower level had been elevated beyond the strength of some Vasto Lorde. But not all. And out of the very few Vasto Lorde there were, one has the potential to be a true arrancar
1. Chapter 1

Alright, before anyone continues on I want to make one thing perfectly clear to anyone who even bothers to read this. I am not a writer. I'm a reader. I could read fics for 24 hours and never get bored. Writing tires me out. A lot.

That means that this fic could end up abandoned at any time. Tomorrow. Next week. Hell, maybe even next year. Proceed with caution. In all likelihood, you won't even like my fic, considering the cliche plot.

If you do however, don't get too invested. I guess it'll all depend on how popular this little prelude is. Who knows. Maybe it'll do good. 50 reviews for just this. Yeah, right. Like thats going to happen. Seriously though. Reviews and favorites and follows will determine the fate of this story.

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Step. Step. Step.

_One foot in front of the other._

Step... Step... Step.

The white skinned hollow slowed to a stop, bringing one hand up to look at it, eyes scanning over the razor sharp points at the end of his fingers. The hollow's mask wrapped around to cover his entire head and looked distinctly similar to a human skull. Two horns jutted out of the masks temples and angled almost directly forward. Long orange hair – reaching down to the Hollow's waist – spread out from under the helmet and down the Hollow's back. The Hollow's garb bizarrely resembled that of a Shinigami's. The bottoms matched with those of a standard Shinigami's attire, the creature's Hollow Hole was covered up by a long, double layer coat. The inside was maroon while the outside was pure black. The back extended all the way down to his anklesand ended with a tattered edge. Red tufts of fur ran along it's collar bone and wrapped around both it's wrists and ankles. This was a Vasto Lorde.

The hand dropped back to it's side and the Hollow resumed walking.

_How long have I been walking...?_

…

_Where do I walk?_

…

_Why do I walk?_

The last thought remained.

_What is my purpose?_

Something had always felt wrong. Even back when it was an Adjuchas, the Hollow had always felt as if it should have been doing something else. Like there was some great duty he had to perform, or...

or it was like he had something to...

protect...

"_Ichi-nii!" _

It was barely above a whisper, but with that single statement a sharp pain exploded in the Hollow's head.

_Nonononono. This is all wrong. Wrong. No. NO!_

The Hollow roared, a guttural sound that could be heard for miles around. The tight control he had on his Reiatsu fell apart, revealing the utterly insane amount of it the Vasto Lorde had.

He fell to his knees, hands reaching up to grasp at his mask, claws scratching at it, trying to peel it off. One hand went up to one of the horns and broke it off, but the white material bubbled up and quickly replaced it.

Another roar, louder than the last.

Both hands went up this time and broke off both horns, but the process repeated, and it went on like this for days.

Four days later, the ever decreasing amount of Reiatsu completely disappeared, prompting all the Hollow within a 40 mile radius to start coming back towards the source. For the past days, no Hollow dared to wander within 15 miles of the point of power. The fear of death from the Reiatsu alone deterred any of them from trying to get a meal that would certainly lead to their own evolution to a Vasto Lorde.

Back at the point, the Hollow had stopped clawing, as the mask had ceased repairing itself and was now completely covered in cracks. The roar suddenly switched into a human like scream and with the sound of breaking glass, the mask shattered into Reiatsu particles, floating freely and visibly for a few seconds before quickly condensing down into a blade's shape in the Hollow's hand. The shape glowed brightly, before revealing the pure black long sword. Four bent prongs made up the sword's cross guard, and a broken chain dangled from the end of the hilt.

Under the mask was revealed to be a male teenager in his mid to late-teens. The previously amber eyes darkened until they were a more brown color. The pure white skin gained a more tan color, and the red tufts had also disappeared. There actually wasn't any distinguishing features about the teenager. He could pass off as human now. As long as no one saw the hole still in the center of his chest.

The screaming had stopped, and blank brown eyes stared into the ever-present night sky of Hueco Mundo.

Within his inner world, two pairs of eyes flicked open.

* * *

For the plot you'll be looking at the pretty cliche Arracar!Ichigo, although with my own little twist I guess. Nothing really that big. He'll also be overwhelmingly powerful. You figure I used the form he took when he fought Ulquiorra as his Vasto Lorde, and he absolutely fucking owned with that. So yeah. I'll try and do some interesting stuff with his powers, but that's for you all to decide(if its interesting). I have some ideas on back story but I don't have anything written up. Make of that what you will. Maybe one chapter will be good, and the other will suck. I don't know.

NOT ALL CHAPTERS WILL BE THIS SHORT. I just thought I'd stress that if that's what turns someone away from this fic. This is just my little draft. As stated before, it will probably just get 1 or 2 favs/follows/reviews. So yeah. Might not get past this. I'll try for two actual chapters, but...

Anyway. Enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow guys (and girls, maybe?). Just, wow. 4 Reviews? 5 Favorites? 12 Follows?! 12?! I must admit to my genuine surprise. I also must that all of you for taking the time to read this. Hopefully you'll continue to like it. If you don't after this chapter I humbly ask you to inform me of what you disliked, and then just to move on with your life.

Reviews:

**blueday00: **I'd rather be self deprecating over some kind of arrogant asshole. :p Thanks for the review.

**Daedricdragon: **Is it? Glad that you think so. Thanks for your review.

**Cf96: **Hopefully it stays that way.

**Moon's last stand: **Thank you. Thank you so much.

* * *

"Don't! Ichigo!"

His eyes opened, staring up at the forever bleak night sky of Hueco Mundo.

"Mom..." The word escaped his mouth, barely above a whisper.

Reaching up to touch his face, he flinched when he felt smooth skin instead of the cold, hard mask that had been there before.

"This is different." It was just now that he noticed the sword clutched in his hand. He quickly surmised that it had been gained when he had torn his mask off.

_That is correct, Ichigo. _His sharp eyes glanced around, despite knowing that nothing was there because of the lack of Reiatsu. Unable to ignore the slight pulling sensation in the back of his head, he closed his eyes, only to reopen them and find himself still in Hueco Mundo. The only thing different was the two figures standing in front of him.

"**Your lucky, Ichigo." **Said the one that looked like a copy of himself, with inverted colors.

"Who are you?" He questioned, deciding to start with the basics.

"**I'm Zangetsu" **The spirit said, as if that should be obvious.

"Zangetsu?" Ichigo repeated, wondering what the spirit was. He noticed the spirit's smirk widen into a grin.

"**It's good that you can hear my name already."**

"Should I not have been able to?" He asked rhetorically. "Besides, what are you, Zangetsu."

"**I'm your horse, King. I'm your power. I'm your sword." **

"Wouldn't that make you less of a horse, and more of the knight that protects the King?" At this, his white counterpart threw his head back and laughed. Amidst the laughing he turned to the older man in the black overcoat with the sunglasses.

"And if he is my sword, then what are you? Who are you?" The man looked at him for a long while before he let out a sigh.

"That is something that would only give you more questions instead of answers right now. Know this, Ichigo, I am just another piece of your power. I will answer your question when the time is right. For now, I suggest that you head to the human world to... reconnect. I assume that you've regained all your memories?" Ichigo nodded. "Good. Then you know that you and your mother left some family behind. Check up on them. See how they are doing." A tiny bit of frustration welled up in Ichigo's gut.

"Wait, I still have questions. Like, what is this place?" He tried to protest.

"**This is your inner world, Partner. Depressing, ain't it? Could use some more greenery. But the old man is right you should get going, for now. We'll all have a nice family chat later." **Zangetsu spoke up, arms crossed.

Ichigo blinked and found himself once again on his back and staring up at the moon.

Slowly, he staggered to his feet. Being out of action for four days had left him hungry. In truth it had been at least a week since he had last eaten. As a Vasto Lorde he had generally waited until he was starved before going on a binge and eating as much as he could find in a day.

A grimace worked its way onto his face. His human and Hollow memories were working against each other now. While his human ones made him crave something like a thick steak or some bacon or something, his Hollow memories on the other hand knew that the only thing that could really fill him up was Reiryoku. And having one of the highest Reiatsu's seen in Hueco Mundo in over a thousand years really left a guy a big appetite.

"Guess I better find a couple dozen Adjuchas to eat before I head into the human world..." With that mumbled thought he raised his Reiatsu up to that of a Plus soul's and began to walk.

Two hours later he pat his now full stomach and flicked his wrist, his Reiatsu spiking for a moment to create a stable Garganta. Staring into it, he wondered if he was ready to see his old town again. He didn't even really know how long it had been since he died. Maybe it had only been a year. Maybe it had been a hundred. You simply lost track of time while in Hueco Mundo.

What the old man had said implied that his family was still alive, so he at least had that to go off of.

He focused when he saw the opening at the end of the endless void, light shining on the other side. Calmly, he stepped through and looked around, finding himself in a desolate desert with rock formations and dead trees scattered everywhere. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Is- is _this _Karakura Town?" Reaching out with his senses, he ignored the Reiatsuhe felt behind him for the time being.

"No. Well, sort of. It's under Karakura town." The man spoke, eyes hidden under a green-striped bucket hat on top of light blonde hair.

"I sensed the opening of a Garganta, and imagine my surprise when I come down and see not a Hollow, but something with the appearance of a human boy step out of it." The man mused. "Judging by that sword, I would say you were a Shinigami, but your Reiryoku says differently. It says that your both, and if I'm being completely honest, that scares the hell out of me."

Ichigo remained silent as he slowly turned to look at the man, taking note of the fact that he had a cane but didn't look very old. The Arrancar found that odd considering that the person before him had some power if they could sense him, and knew about the Spirit Worlds.

"Who are you?" He tentatively asked.

"I should be the one asking that question. You are, after all, the one who broke into my shop. We don't open for at least another two hours, and even then you really don't look like your here to buy something. Since I'm such a nice person, I'll answer your question anyway. I'm Kisuke Urahara."

"Ichigo Kurosaki." The man's eyes widened, and then he pulled the bucket hat down tighter to hide them from view.

"Well now. That is quite the claim, considering that young Ichigo only died a year ago. If I were to guess I'd say that you were 19, or maybe 20. So enlighten me, _Ichigo_, just how have you gained such an age in only a year?" A paper thin tension hung in the air, and despite Urahara's relaxed posture and the friendly look in his eye, Ichigo knew that his answer would determine if a fight between them would break out. Finding a fight counter intuitive to his purposes in Karakura town, Ichigo gave the most honest answer he had.

"I don't really know... To my knowledgeI've been a Hollow for the past year."

"A Hollow...?" The man murmured to himself, seemingly lost in his own thoughts for a moment before he refocused on the Arrancar in front of him.

"So, what brings you to Karakura Town?"

"I've come to check up on my family. See how they're doing." At this, Urahara sighed. The ringing of a blade being drawn surprisedIchigo as the shopkeeper revealed the cane-sword hybrid.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Kurosaki-san. You just said yourself that you're a Hollow. Although I've never seen one that looked so unnervingly..." At this he paused, looking Ichigo up and down warily. "... human like before. Nevertheless, it's quite common knowledge that a Hollow targets their loved ones first. I simply can't trust you to be able to control yourself around them."

"Wait. Why do you care? Whats my family to you?" Ichigo argued, finding the scientist's reasons vague.

"Lets just say I'm an old friend of your parents."

Ichigo blinked, and had to instantly draw Zangetsu to block the blade coming for his throat.

"Oh? You could block that?"

"What the hell, man?! We were talking just fine!" Ichigo growled, pushing Kisuke's Zanpakuto to the side and sending a light kick towards his gut. The exiled Shinigami leaped up above Ichigo's leg, sending a quick slash down towards italong the way. Ichigo didn't even flinch as the blade smacked off of his skin, cutting through the clothing but not even bruising his flesh. Kisuke appeared in front of Ichigo, blade at his side.

"Wow, that is some tough skin you got there. Even if I haven't released it yetit's stillquite a surprise to see that I can't cut through." Ichigo, one leg still outstretched, sighed.

"There's no helping it, is there?"

Kisuke froze, his eyes drifting down towards where the black metal was now hovering dangerously close to his throat. His eyes flickered back to where Ichigo had been just moments before, only a lingering dust cloud signifying that he had moved.

"I really don't want to do this, Urahara-san." The arrancar's voice sounded from behind.

"You're fast too." The man mused distractedly, appearing to be quite relaxed despite the few inches that determined life or death.

"So what will you do, Ichigo?" Urahara wondered out loud, silence reigning for a few moments after that. The black blade moved, and blood splattered across the ground.

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I'll try to get out at least one chapter every week, and each one will be anywhere between 2000 and 5000 words, excluding the Author Notes.

Enjoy.


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